Dissonance
by Deya Amaya
Summary: "You are the best thing that's (n)ever been mine." slight AUish FaiXOC, post series.Warning:character deaths, spoiler for Fai's past.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: And I'm back with another FaiXOC fanfiction. It's slightly bigger than my previous ones. Hopefully you guys will like it :) The first chapter may seem a bit confusing but it'll be clearer in the later chapters. I wanted it to be a oneshot but couldn't manage. Hopefully I'll be able to write out the rest quickly :) enjoy.**

Parking on the Castiel bridge was illegal. But in the early hours of the morning, no one noticed as a black jeep stopped in the shadow of a pillar and a lone figure stepped out of it. Illuminated in the pre-dawn glow of the sky and a streetlamp a few meters away, he shuffled precariously close to the edge of the bridge, looking down at the dark water flowing underneath.

The sun peeked out of the horizon in a few minutes, the light warm and gold as it shone off of Fai's blond hair. It hit the object on his palm, setting it off like a small star.

"Today." he smiled at nothing. "Today's the day."

* * *

"Hello."

". . . . . ."

"Hellooooo?"

". . . . . . "

"Sarah, how come you pick up the phone and then don't talk?"

"nnngh"

". . . . . You were asleep."

"mmmmmh"

"Let me guess. You fell asleep in the office. In the middle of working on the budget. On your desk."

". . . . Hmm"

"Again."

"ngh look who's talking grr"

"Ahh, she can talk. Wait. What? What do you mean by that?"

"Moron. You were also working. Why else would you be up at 5 in the morning?"

". . . Good observation."

"hehe"

"It was Yuui's fault! He makes me deal with all the paperwork!"

"Excuses, excuses."

". . . . . I'm coming to pick you up. Don't fall back asleep!"

"Aww You're so sweet."

"Love you."

"Love you too, Fai."

* * *

"Remind me again why I just carried you down fifteen set of stairs bridal style?"

"mmm, because I'm too sleepy to walk and you luuurve me? Hehe."

"Hmph. Stop giggling. What the hell do you eat? You look so slim but weight a ton."

"FAI DÈ VALÈ DID YOU JUST CALL ME FAT?"

"N-no! I was just admiring the fact that you seem to be all muscles and no excess fat 3"

"Good for you. Ooh you brought Livanya's jeep! Put me down on the back seat. It's comfy enough to sleep."

"That's why I brought it. . . ."

"Fai, why's there flower petals on the seats?"

". . . . . . ."

"Why're you getting down on your knees!?"

". . . Stop screeching and let me do this. I've waited too long."

". . Okay."

"Sarah Anne Marshal, would you marry me?"

"Yes. Oh God, yes. I will marry you."

". . . Great. That's . . That's great. I mean. . ."

"Breathe, Fai."

"Very funny. You know how nerve-wreking that was? I was ready to faint."

"I felt like fainting when you asked. . . I thought you'd never ask though. Hehe."

"Let's see if this fits you."

"I've never seen an aquamerin diamond. It's so pretty."

"I wanted to find the exact colour of your eyes."

". . . Oh. . ."

"Perfect fit. . ."

* * *

The cool morning breeze gushed through the open window at Fai's side and ruffled his hair across his face. The city was just waking up and the shortcut to his apartment was mostly deserted. He hummed quietly, so he won't wake up his lover asleep in the backseat. Sunlight was filtering through the canopy of trees lining the street. It warmed him up from inside out. Glancing at the rear view mirror, he caught the glint of her engagement ring as a stray beam of sunlight hit her still form. Almost simultaneously, he saw his own eyes flooding with happiness. This was what home felt like, he thought. It was the feeling of coming back to a home you never knew existed. He wondered if heaven felt this way.

His mind drifted off randomly. Sarah loves pancakes with maple syrup. Is there enough maple syrup left? He'd have to call up his brother and his wife to give the good news. Later, though. Livanya hated being woken up so early. Flowers. He'd have to get some flowers for Sarah. Maybe Subaru can get them.

Thought of Subaru made him frown. He was the gentler of the twin bodyguards who served Fai and Yuui. Kamui was under Yuui. And Subaru was under Fai. But Subaru hadn't shown up after dinner last night. When Fai called, his phone was unavailable. So was Kamui's. It made him worry. As the CEO's of Valè Corp., Fai and Yuui had many enemies and even though they were both very capable fighters, it was best to be cautious. Right now, having Sarah with him made Fai extremely vulnerable without his bodyguard.

They were close to his apartment building soon. Fai turned in his seat to quietly nudge Sarah awake. As such, he missed the small, inconspicuous seal placed in the middle of the street.

Several things happened all at once. Fai watched as Sarah's eyelids fluttered open and she gave him a sleepy smile. In the space of half a second, her eyes were widening with terror and focusing on a point behind him. Before he had time to turn around, the whole world went black.

* * *

Fai opened his eyes to chaos.

At first he could barely see anything except smoke and blood. Crippling pain hit him at the same time consciousness did. Every breath sent a spike of red hot pain down to his side. He clenched his teeth and tried to think. How did this happen?

It all came back to him at once. His head hurt with the sudden onslaught of recollections. Flowers, Subaru, the turquaise diamond ring. . .

Sarah.

Where was Sarah?  
Why wasn't she with him? Why wasn't she yelling at him for being an idiot, looking away while driving? Where was she?

He could hear frantic voices yelling with panic and horror. Ignoring the protests of his injured body, he tried to get up. His wounds would heal soon anyway. His reputation for perfect healing magic didn't come from thin air. He had to find Sarah. He had to make sure she was okay.

Sitting up, he clutched his side to stifle the gushing flow of blood. Only then he noticed the hand besides him, the palm resting on his knee. On the ring finger sat the diamond ring he'd carried around in his pocket the last few weeks.

His eyes travelled up the hand, up to the elbow, to the shoulder, to the mess of brown curls cradling her pale face.

She looked so pale. Too pale. The slight smudge of soot on her chin standing out in contrast. But as his eyes ran over her body from head to toe, he didn't see any injuries save a few cuts and scratches. He sighed quietly. She was fine, he told himself. She was just unconscious.

He shoved the pile of junk aside to scoot close to her. He leaned in to hold her close. "Sarah. . . Darling, wake up." he tapped her cheek gently. "wake up." Wake up. Please wake up. Let me see you smile.

She wasn't moving. Was she even breathing? He shakily reached a hand under her chin, and moved the other hand to cup the back of her neck. "Sarah? Can you hear-"

He stilled. His hand had reached the back of her neck and encountered cold metal instead of flesh. He slowly pulled his hand back. It was sticky with blood. So was her hair. Her blood was no longer warm.

"No. . . " he breathed. "no, no, not you. . . Please. . . No. . . "

The pain slashed him like a physical blow, and he suddenly couldn't breath, couldn't see through the haze of tears. The gaping wound on his side didn't hurt anymore, his heart did. He sobbed, pulling her lifeless body on his lap. Why? Why now? He wailed. God. . . Why did you give me so much happiness just to take it away so soon?

* * *

All the way over at the other side of the town, Yuui woke with a gasp.

His pulse beat painfully loud in his ears, smoky wasps of the nightmare lurking around the boundary of his vision. Gulping in lungfuls of air, he threw one hand over his eyes and another over his chest, trying to ease the erratic beats. Details of his nightmare escaping as consciousness replaced them. It had something to do with blood, pain, and loss. Loss of someone precious. His heart jumped to his throat. Livanya, where's Livanya?

The noise of food processor coming from down the hall alerted him. Was she there? She'd been having peculiar cravings lately. He threw back the covers and gently padded over to the kitchen, only to find her smearing mayo over a generous slice of apple pie.

He leaned on the doorframe, quietly admiring his wife. His eyes ran from the top of her head adorned with fiery red curls falling past her waist, to her dainty slipper clad feet. She was alright. She was fine. The relief made him sigh in content.

Hearing him, she slowly turned around. Laughter bubbled in his throat. She had a spoon dangling from her lips and big, guilty eyes like those of a child caught with her hand in a cookie jar. As she stared at him, the spoon fell and hit the floor. That was his cue to start laughing full out.

Clutching his stomach, he tried to quiet down as she crossed her arms with an angry pout on her lips. She asked him what he was doing up so early. He shrugged it off. It'd do no good to needlessly worry her.

"your stomach was growling too loud. It woke me up."

It earned him a smack on the head with her spoon. He rubbed his head, looking at her mayo smeared apple pie. It looked rather tantalizing. What the hell?

". . . make me one of those while you're at it, 'kay?" he escaped to the living room before she could get smug.

Switching on one light after another, he reached the dark room, noticing the screen of his mobile phone was alight. He hopped on the couch. About five missed calls from various business associates. One message from his brother.  
"On my way 2 Sarah's office. Gonna tell her :S"

Yuui cheered. "oh yeah! About time you idiot." Not noticing Livanya as she came into the room carrying her mayo-pie combo on a try. "which idiot?" she read the message over his shoulder and whooped.  
"About goddamn time!"  
"I know right?" he grinned with all his teeth, moving over to make space for her on the couch as they both ate the impossible food.

* * *

It was when Livanya whipped out a minipack of oreos and started to squabble over it with him, that the feeling hit Yuui.

Something. . . something was horribly wrong.

He plastered on a mask of laughter so as to not worry Livanya so early in the morning. In his head he crossed out all the facts.

Fai's text had arrived more than a couple hours earlier, but he still had to call and let them know the result. A lighter voice in his head suggested that the lovebirds were probably back to Fai's apartment to celebrate by themselves. Still, he couldn't shake off the sick feeling in his stomach that that wasn't it.

Moreover, Kamui and Subaru were still MIA. Yuui had known them since childhood. Livanya practically raised them. They weren't irresponsible. They were trained assassins, for heaven's sake. Something had to have happened for them to be vanished for more than twenty four hours.

And then. . . The meeting tomorrow with Xing Huo, the princess of Xing corp. She'd called the meeting, claiming to discuss the end of the generation-long feud between their companies. Fai was sceptical about the whole thing. Not like Yuui could blame him. That woman gave him the creeps.

All in all, his nerves were stretched taut in anticipation for something. . . Something sinister. Something. . .

So when all around him the lights went out without any warning, he wasn't suprised. His just knew, a recurring nightmare was finally about to come to life. He reached out to hold Livanya closer, and prayed on vein hope.

* * *

Crackle. Crackle. Splash. Gasp. Screech.

Not good. Not good. NOT GOOD.

Another jolt of electricity sliced through Subaru's system and he screamed. The space in between the links of his chain was crackling with the charge, leaving red hot scars on his neck. He bit back tears and a gasp of relief escaped as they turned off the current. It'd been going for hours. At first it was traditional beating, whipping, breaking fingers. Xing even had the nerve to take out pins from her hair and stick them under his nails . . . . Noting that the twin vampires were mostly unaffected, the electrical chair had been brought in about two hours ago. Already Subaru was starting to loose it. His body couldn't take it anymore.

His head hung forward, he glanced through his dark bangs towards where they were holding Kamui's head under water, his body convulsing with inhumane strength. Horror gripped Subaru's heart when he saw the water was becoming pink.

"KAMUI!"

He almost broke through the manacles binding him to the chair, when they finally let Kamui come up for air.

Kamui coughed out water mixed with thin streaks of red. His insides were on fire. Breathing hurt. He opened blood shot eyes hazy from oxygen deprivation. "Su. . . baru?"

"Tell them."

Kamui's head shot up and he looked at Subaru incredulously. Tell them?! Why? These bastards wouldn't let them live anyway. What was the point?

"Yes. . . Tell us, Kamui chan~", sneered Xing, grabbing a fistfull of Subaru's hair.

Subaru met his narrowed eyes with a silent plea in his own. "It's gone on for long enough." We bought Yuui enough time. He should've realised by now what our absence means.

Kamui closed his eyes in defeat. Stupid Subaru. He wasn't worried for his own life, but his twin's. Why not? A part of him agreed too. He just wanted all this to stop.

In a choked whisper, he gave her the password to Yuui's security system.

Vicious red lips curled upwards in glee, Xing sauntered towards Kamui, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" She flicked her tongue over the shell of his ear, cackling as he shrunk away in disgust. Running a hand through her coiling black hair, she stepped away to look at both of the twins, looking almost sober.

"Thank you for your co-operation. Subaru. Kamui." her tone was sugary sweet. And in a blink, she'd taken the glock strapped to her thigh to shoot Kamui. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Subaru froze, disbelieving green eyes taking in the form of Kamui writhing in agony on the floor, blood pooling in all directions. His ears didn't register the background noise, Xing was giving directions to her thugs. He vaguely sensed one of take off the manacles binding him to the chair. He didn't move. All of them filed out of the room, only Xing remained. Subaru saw something metallic glinting in her hand. Their necklaces. She took their necklaces. Probably to show Yuui as proof of their death.

She walked close to the door and kicked a gun so that it slid to Subaru's feet.

"It still has a couple of shots left, Subaru-kun." she sneered. "Enough to put the two of you out of misery. Have fun~"

She left, slamming the heavy iron door shut behind her.

The loud bang echoed in the empty room, jarring Subaru out of his daze. He scrambled to his knees to pull Kamui close. The blood gushing out of his torso staining Subaru instantly. Under his palm, his twins heartbeat was slowing alarmingly. "KAMUI! No. . . Stay with me!"

Pain stricken violet eyes opened to lock with emerald ones, blood dripping from his lips as he smiled gently at his brother. He lifted a hand to Subaru's face.

"See you later, Subaru. . ."

The heart under Subaru's palm ceased to beat a second after Kamui's hand fell from his face, smearing a path of red from his temple to chin.

Sobs shook his frame as he gently pulled up Kamui to rest his head on his own shoulder. In death, Kamui's face relaxed into an almost childlike tranquility, being showered with Subaru's tears. He looked up at the gun that Xing had left, and suddenly, it became crystal clear what he'd have to do next.

* * *

_**TBC**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to oxEmmaox for being the only reviewer T_T this chapter is dedicated to you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fai or any other Tsubasa Chronicles characters or the Anime/manga itself. However, I do own the characters Livanya (Neva) and Leander :)**

Xing hissed in frustration. Forcefield? Goddamn FORCEFIELD!? After all the trouble she went through to eradicate Fai Dè Valè and the two vampire bodyguards, now she was close to eradicating the only one left, Yuui Dè Valè. After this, nothing would stand in her way to take over Valè Corp's ownership key. And now, she was being thwarted by a freakin forcefield that Yuui put up? This cannot be!

Not unlike Yuui himself, the forcefield was powerful, and as elusive as a mirage. It covered the whole of his apartment, almost impossible to pick out from it's surrounding because of its transparency. Xing only found out because two of her men walked heedlessly through it and instantly dropped dead, charred inside out like overcooked chicken.

Gloving a hand in her own magic, Xing cautiously touched the barrier surface. It sizzled loudly in retaliation to the foreign intrusion, momentarily coming visible. Xing was impressed. She was hoping to find a weak link in the whole system. But it was made up of an intricate maze of patterns, curling and warping around each other so it was impossible to tell where one begun and another started. It must've taken Yuui years to perfect. Xing clenched her fist. "That sly bastard!"

It still had a flaw, though. Living things won't pass through it, but it can be brought down by brutal force. Smirking with venom, Xing ordered her men to brushfire on the walls.

The sun was up all the way now, shining merrily. The grey rainclouds of the morning nowhere to be seen. How lovely, thought Xing. There must be something poetic about destroying lives in broad daylight.

Inside the walls, Yuui felt the shudders run through him as round after round bullets went through the barrier to hit the walls. He was sitting cross legged in the middle of the living room floor, hands risen above his head to keep the barrier in place. Taking a deep breath, he pushed out even more energy to construct a second barrier inside the previous one, one that'll ward off even physical attacks. This one was a lot smaller, covering only the spacious living room. Still, the exertion was starting to take it's toll on him. Sweat rolled off off his head all the way down, drenching his light shirt and jeans all the way through.

"Yuui?"

Livanya's quiet yet anxiety filled voice reached through his concentration and he sighed. Turning to look at where she was working to draw a triangular arcanum he offered a strained smile. The inner barrier was done, and he lay back on the cool floor. "Livanya, come here, love."

She dropped the paintbrush to scoot next to him. "Why did you tell me to set up an interdimensional pattern? What're you gonna send away, the ownership key? But for this design we need three people. Who else-"

He put up a finger to her lips to quiet her panicy babbling. Then ran the hand aside to cup her face gently.

"There's something important that I need to tell you. . ."

* * *

The walls around Yuui Dè Valè's apartment resembled slices of swiss cheese. Just a bit more. . . Thought Xing. Looking through the holes she could see Yuui and his wife hurriedly moving about . Oh, lovely, two birds with one stone. Although. . .

She squinted at the floor. Triangular dimensional transportation arcana? To transport the key? But there's only Yuui and Livanya in there. Unless. . . .

She sucked in a sharp breath. No way. . . There WAS three people in there, wasn't there? It was top secret info, but Xing knew. Livanya Dè Valè was pregnant. Would it be used as the third corner?

Likely . But not for Yuui Dè Valè. As precious as the Valè corp. was to him, would he really sacrifice his own child to ensure the safety of the key? It was common sense that this kind of magic was enough to even drain an adult of his life force. That child would die in Livanya's womb.

It didn't add up. She was missing something. Exasperated, she picked up her phone to call her two faithful servants. She'd need her cunning advisor. She'd also need her loyal lapdog for his magical potential.

Kyle took an infuriatingly long time to pick up. "Yes, my dear witchy witch. What do you need? Means to dispose of the bodies?"

"No, you sicko. I don't want you to add more bodies to your lab, fucking necrophiliac. They're not dead yet. And I have a problem. Get your ass

down here. While you're at it, grab Leander too."

* * *

Yuui Dè Valè's emergency voice mail reached three members of his board of directors at the same time. However, they received it differently.

Syaoran Li woke up to a string of colourful curses in a grumbling female voice. He groaned and rolled away from the noise, only to end up on the floor.

Did the bed shrink? Wait. . . His room wasn't so. . . Pink! He looked around blearily. Oh, he was in Sakura's room. The owner of the room was currently continuing the search of her vibrating phone between the tangled bedsheets. Syaoran saw his own silenced phone blinking green on her bedside table.

"It's from Yuui." grumbled Sakura. The infuriating arse, waking her up so early on valentine's day, no less.

". . . Mine too." Syaoran yawned. "This'd better be good. . ."

Both of them listened to the solemn voice of Yuui, uttering one sentence that erased any trace of sleep left in their mind.

"It's time."

The third voice mail reached a red flip handset that went of in a pop tune. Tomoe Daidouji picked it up from his working desk, frowning at the caller ID that said "CEO 1".

Sipping from the can of soda he walked into the master bedroom. "Kuro chan, your boss sent a voice mail."

He heard the shower turn off and the door open. Out came his abso-freakin-lutely gorgeous wife, toweling her long black hair and wearing a-

"T-shirt?! MY T-shirt?!" Tomoe wailed. His fashion designer brain thoroughly scandalized. "Why can't you just come out wearing a white towel, like in the romance novels?!"

Kuroyuki ignored his apparent chagrin and snatched the phone away, listening to the voice mail and running a comb through her wet hair. The mail was only about five seconds long. But Kuroyuki stood still, clutching the comb so hard her tan knuckles were turning white.

Tomoe gently pried the comb off of her frozen hand and set it aside. He snaked his arms around her waist as she leaned her back onto his chest.

"I'm sorry. . . I know he's your best friend. . ."

"They're your friends too."

Her phone announced an incoming call from Sakura Avalon. Kuroyuki sighed as she picked up, she was so not happy about dealing with this shit.

"Kurocchin! Did you get the mail too? What're we gonna do? We have to do something!"

"We will do exactly what Yuui had instructed us to do." She answered calmly, sitting down and turning on her laptop.

"ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS?!"

"I'm serious. And if you trust Yuui as much as I do, you'd do what you were told to do. I have faith in him."

Kuroyuki heard some shuffling. Then Syaoran spoke. She raised an eyebrow. Syaoran and Sakura. . . Hate sex?

"I want to trust Yuui too, Kuroyuki san. He must've thought this thoroughly. Would you like us to start now?"

"I NEED you to start right away, Li. Same goes for Avalon. Tell her to stop worrying about things that are out of her control. Now. . . . Execute Plan Blackout."

* * *

". . . -ko. . . . -Yu- . . . Yuuko. . . -ko sama. . . "

What the hell was that godawful noise? And there was something poking him on the side. Watanuki growled and tried to sit up. Stupid, lazy Yuuko. Can't she even receive her own phone?

Where the hell is that woman?

Oh. . . Wait. . . Yuuko is. . .

Nevermind. . .

The black mokona was poking him viciously with what looked like an ornate bracelate that was spouting all the noise. Watanuki carefully took it. What's this? An old customer?

He calmly spoke to the person on the opposite side. Ahh. A business opportunity? Looks like the travellers were in for a little bump on their ride.

* * *

The world they'd landed on this time was named Lytenus.

It was a lot like Hanshin republic in terms of technological advancements. They'd crashed in an old rundown warehouse owned by a guitarist named Ryuu, after they'd offered to help with the performance of his band. Fai was staying put with a back pain. Kuro and Syaoran had landed squarely on his back upon arrival at this world and needless to say, they weren't light. Kuro had went out to search for new jobs while Syaoran was out fetching medicine for Fai's back.

Currently, Ryuu was perched on a desk in their room, while Fai made himself comfortable on the window seal, trying to sing along while Ryuu played a slow tune on his guitar.

Ryuu was an intriguing individual, Fai observed. His inky black hair was streaked with blue and spiked in random directions. His clothes closely resembled those of Infinity, adorned with metal studs and dark leather. Metal glinted in random places on his pallid skin, noticing one even glinting on the tip of his tongue as he absently licked his lips. Overall, the aura he gave out was rather eccentric. However, under the seemingly detached exterior, Fai could tell he had a good heart. Not innocent, rather. . . . Purified in the fire of pain and struggles.

"Through the storm we reach the shore

You give it all but I want more"

Ryuu smirked as the gentle faced traveller started to learn the song quickly, pouring his heart into it. He looked rather young to have such a controlled voice, he observed.

"Aren't you musical," Ryuu teased, putting the acustic down as the song ended. "are you used to singing?"

"Not exactly. . ." he trailed off with a secretive smile. After a long pause, he spoke again.  
"I used to play flute. . ."

Ryuu hummed in response. He couldn't wait to test out Fai's talent on stage. Some of his more emotional numbers would sound absolutly mindblowing in that voice.

Suddenly Ryuu jumped down from the desk and stretched. Being cooped up in the house all day long wasn't his favourite thing. There was a carnival in the town that he wanted to check out. But it would be unwise to leave the lone traveller and his fluffy pet in the house. Reaching a conclusion in his mind, Ryuu perked up and grabbed both Fai and Mokona.

"You're coming with me! We're gonna go have some fun!"

* * *

The carnival was a swirling mass of red and gold and orange and all the brightest colours leaking around each other. It was lively with the merry chatter of children and their parents, enjoying various attractions. Fai babbled animatedly with the white furball hidden in his backpack. Lytenus wasn't a magical world, mokona couldn't come out in public.

The crowd kept getting thicker and Fai felt Ryuu drift away in another direction. "Waaaah! Ryuu chan is leaving me!" he wailed.

Chan?! Ryuu wondered which part of him looked like a "chan". He prided himself in being a one hundred percent manly man, thank you very much. He waved dismissively at Fai. "Go on, enjoy the place. I can't babysit you all day."

Fai put on a very convincing pout. "But what if we get lost?!"

"You guys travel across dimensions, I won't believe you can't even manage on your own in a tiny little carnival!" Ryuu smirked and promptly disappeared into the crowd.

Boo. Some people were too clever for their own good.

Nibbling on a rainbow coloured cotton candy, he ventured deeper into the carnival. At the back corner, the shadier stalls were set up. In this dimension where people normally didn't possess magic, he noticed a tent that was practically overflowing with it.

"Fortune Teller Cassiopia" the faded wooden plank over the bright red tent said.

He'd fully expected "Cassiopia" to be a gnarled old bat, just like any other fortune teller. To his suprise however, she was quite the opposite.

She sat weaving a small wicker basket in the middle of the tent floor, a girl with a pixie face and long black hair that fell in waves to her waist, dressed typically like a nomad in bright coloured skirt, sequined top and a bandana holding her hair back. She looked up sensing his entrance and Fai was faced with curious amber eyes heavily lined with kohl. Realisation hit him as he stared into her eyes.

A blind fortune teller? How ironic.

At the same time the thought crossed his mind, her lips tilted with a smile.

"Oh, I might be blind, traveller. But the heart sees more that eyes ever could!"

"Clairvoyant. . ." he breathed.

"But of course!" she smiled and stood up, setting the unfinished basket aside. She sat besides a small low table draped with silk and gestured at him to sit across from her. The table top was empty. It looked like she didn't use crystal balls or tarot cards to tell fortune. Then again, Fai reminded himself, a strong clairvoyant won't need any of those toys. He took off the backpack and let mokona out of the confined space. Mokona didn't seem weary of the young girl. It was a good sign.

"Give me your hand. And no, I'm not going to use palmistry."

Fai obediently locked both of his hands, palms down, on her waiting ones.

As soon as she touched him though, her body stiffened and she let out a pained gaps. Alarmed, Fai's first reflex was to try and pull his hands back, but she kept them locked in a vicelike strong grip.

"No, don't let go. . . I'm fine. . . But. . . Oh. . . Yuui. . . I'm so sorry. . . For your loss. . . Your brother. . . I'm sorry. . ."

She called him Yuui. Not Fai, Yuui. He felt a cold shiver run through his spine hearing her call him the name no one has called in decades. . . .

Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "but I need to see your past and present to look into your future."

He swallowed. "It's alright. . . Proceed. . ."

* * *

"So! What would you like to know?"

"I have to specify?"

"Yes! For example, you can ask for job fortune, health fortune, death fortune, . . . . Even love fortune! Or you can ask all of these, I don't mind. You're a special customer, so I'll be generous!"

"Fine by me."

"Well. . . . You'll get a job that you like in approximately two days. . . Apart from your travelling job, that is. Your health will be fine for a while. . . Although in about a year, you'll face great pain and discomfort, I'm afraid. . . And your death-"

"Don't!"

". . . Okay then. . . I won't tell you about your death."

"Cassiopia. . . . Tell me if something exceptional will happen in the near future. . ."

"Ohh. . . So that's it. You're bored, aren't you traveller?!"

". . . . Maybe I am. . ."

*giggles* "Tell me this, Fai. . . What is it that your heart desires?"

". . . . . "

"Ohh my! Not one, but two? One is. . . A feather. . . For your princess? How noble. . . And the other. . . A woman. . . Ohh. . ."

"You saw . . ."

"All I can tell you, Fai, without overwhelming the balance of the dimensions, . . . Without overstepping the boundary of my abilities. . . . Is that. . . ."

". . Tell me. . ."

"One of your desires. . . Will be fulfilled . . . The other. . . However, . . Will bring you both pain and suffering."

"Hah. . . That sounds a lot like Yuuko san. . ."

"It does indeed. The only reason you could sense my tent and enter it, is because you needed to."

"I see. . ."

"Another thing. . . That little locket you won at the carnival's target shooting tonight. . . It'll aid you in your quest."

"How so?"

"Oh, the only one able to tell you that is the Witch of Dimensions, or the one replacing her."

"Thank you, fortune teller. . . "

* * *

Fai had dropped off a sleepy mokona onto his bed and then snuck up to the roof of Ryuu's place. Despite being mostly a mechanized civilization, Lytenus had a suprisingly clear sky, pinpricked with millions of tiny twinkles. Fai tried to find a familiar constellation. He couldn't find any. The same thing happened whenever they travelled to a new place. The constellations changed their configuration. In Koryo, the sky was the clearest, as was in Japan. In Acid Tokyo, he couldn't remember seeing even a single star.

He put up a hand against the sky, watching the silver chain wrapped around his fingers glint, the blood red crystal locket glowing in the moonlight. His eyes took in the state of the old, rusty chain and the seemingly ordinary stone heart hanging off of it.

"What are you?" He mused. "And what makes you so special?"

-FLASHBACK-

"Ryuu-kuuun~ look! Isn't that juggler really good~? Let's go see!"

"Uhh. . . Fai. . . Isn't that Juggler Kurogane?!"

"Well what do you know. . . It is him! Hello Kuro-pipi!"

"ARGH! Why you little-!"

Kurogane proceeded to throttle the overly enthusiastic Fai, while Ryuu observed him with a raised eyebrow.

"What're you looking at?" a vein twitched on Kuro's temple. It would probably look more intimidating on someone who wasn't wearing a full jester's costume, complete with a red reindeer nose.

"Nice hat." Ryuu commented dryly, gesturing at the red and blue mostrosity with three bells dangling off the tapered ends. Kurogane tried in vein to burn Ryuu with his glare. Meanwhile, Fai recovered from near death in Kuro's hands and looked around like a 5 year old. He bounded over to the shooting stall behind Kuro.

"Ne ne! Kurgy, what is this shop?"

Ryuu begrudgingly explained to the blond the rules, which resulted in making Fai squeal in joy because apparently, he had a good aim. Although, how could something that moved so much have a good aim escaped Ryuu's mind. But true to his word, Fai managed to win the first prize. He got all starry eyed when the shopkeeper brought out the giant fluffy white rabbit doll. But then. . . .

"WAAAAH!"

Startled, all three men turned to look at the source of the noise, which was a little girl with green eyes and brown hair, opening and closing her tiny fist at the rabbit in Fai's arms. A blushing young woman with flowing hair was trying to sooth her without much result. Kurogane caught her saying a name. "Sakura chan".

So, this must be this world's version of the Hime, he mused. He glanced at Fai to see his reaction. It was hilarious, the face the blond was making. He obviously didn't have the heart to deny his beloved Hime anything, even if she was from another world. On the other hand, he didn't want to let go of the fluff rabbit either. Pretty soon though, his mind was made and he was walking over to place the rabbit in the little girl's arms. The girl smiled like the sun, so did the woman holding her who was probably the mom. Ryuu observed Fai as he talked to her for quite a while. At the end of the conversation, the woman placed something in Fai's hand which he seemed quite reluctant to take. Money?

Fai walked back with a slightly dazed look in his face, holding up his hand to show the small necklace in his palm. "What's that?" Kurogane asked with a grunt.

"It seems like, it's an heirloom of Nadeshiko san."

"Who?!"

"Sakura chan's mother."

"Why'd she give you something so precious?"

"Apparently. . . Because I made Sakura chan smile."

"Ehh?!"

"Sakura chan. . . . . Lost her father a few weeks ago. She was crying a lot. Not sleeping. Not eating much. Nadeshiko san brought her here to try and put her in a better mood but it wasn't working. That is, until I gave her the doll. She loved it and smiled for the first time in weeks."

"So. . A thank you gift eh?"

"Seems like it."

-END FLASHBACK-

Fai remembered Cassiopia's prediction and though about ornate feathers that could change the world, rose red smiles and chuckled to himself. He put the locket back into the pocket of his jeans.

"Time to have a chat with Watanuki kun~"

* * *

"Watanuki kun. . . You look like you've been waiting for someone."

"Yes. For you to contact me, Fai san."

". . . I see."

"You have a wish. Do you not?"

"I do indeed. I have been told this pendant can fulfill desires. I want to know how to use it."

"Ahh. . . That's a very curious specimen you have there, Fai san. The Bleeding Heart, crafted from the blood of those sacrificed in a historical war of Lytenus. . Yes. . . I can help you. But there will be a price."

"I am well aware of that. What is the price?"

"I require you to open a dimensional portal at Lytenus."

". . . . Watanuki kun, are you trying to kill me? A dimension portal by myself would be near suicide! I'm too young to die!"

"You sure are a drama queen, Fai san. You'll only be taking care of half of it. And we both know you lived way longer than eithe Kurogane san or Syaoran kun."

". . . *pouts*. . . You have a deal."

"Excellent! Let's get started!"

* * *

Yuui finally put down the barrier, Xing observed with glee. Although there was a smaller barrier inside, she could tell it wouldn't hold for more than a couple of hours. She sashayed closer to where Yuui and Livanya was. Yuui looked mildly suprised to see her. Xing seethed inside. Off course the bastard would play cool.

"A very good morning to you,  
Lady Xing." he bowed formally. Livanya observed from behind him. She'd seen Yuui and Xing interact pleasantly at social balls and charities. They were keeping the charade here too. Although Yuui wasn't in a tux, he looked just as formal. Xing. . . Though. . .

Livanya panicked and put a hand over Yuui's eyes, just in time to see Xing execute a bow of herself, lifting her micro mini skirt. Livanya was flabbergasted. The nerve! She didn't want Yuui to know that vile woman's panty choice. . . Oh. . . Wait. . . Livanya had the misfortune to look and made a correction in her head. She did NOT want Yuui to know that Xing's drapes didn't match the carpet!

"Cover your unmentionables, bitch! Don't you have any shame?" she snarled at Xing. The harlot dropped her skirt back in place and smirked. "Sorry."

Yuui cautiously looked over Livanya's fingers. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing you'd want to see!" Livanya barked at him, red faced in anger. Yuui chuckled and wrapped an arm around her. That made Xing bristle.

"Oh well~" she started in a dramatic tone. "You too won't be togather much longer. Not in this world atleast." she laughed maniacally and pulled out a couple of silver necklaces. "Recognize these?" she flung them at the barrier. Yuui concentrated to pull them through. They were Kamui and Subaru's.

"Your precious bodyguards are go~ne" Xing jeered. Livanya's face paled to a deathly white. Yuui wrapped his arm around her tighter, then looked challengingly at Xing.

"You sure, m'lady?"

"Oh yes. They're dead, just like your brother." hissed Xing. Yuui's nonchalant smile was unnerving her. What was going on?

Behind Yuui, the surface of the barrier sizzled, indicating intrusion. Someone was trying to transport inside. But it was a nonpermeable barrier. . . . Wasn't it?

"Impossible!" screeched Xing, as two illuminated forms started to take shape on both sides of Yuui.

"Sorry, brother. I was. . . Held back."

Fai's smile didn't match the empty void of his stare. In his arms he held Sarah's body like a doll. A puddle of blood, his and hers, quickly forming around his feet.

Standing opposite to Fai, Subaru stood with an unmoving Kamui in his arms, both drenched to the bone and bleeding everywhere.

"Ahh, I see we failed to kill them all. Too bad. I guess we'll have to blow them up togather now~"

Xing spun on her heels to see Kyle standing behind her with a sleek smile. Xing felt somewhat pacified. Her efficient underlings were here, this mess will be sorted out soon. Leander stood right behind him looking away from all of them, staring straight at Livanya.

Livanya saw him too, and she paled even farther. Yuui followed her line of vision and saw him.

"Leander Dè Alascè, figures." he spat. "I knew there was a rat amongst our board of directors."

"I see. . . So he's the one who let Xing in on our secrets." Fai said in a steely voice. He turned to face Yuui and Livanya. "You told her everything, right?"

Yuui nodded mutely, clutching at her like a lifeline. Subaru stepped closer to the arcana drawn in the middle of the floor. "There's three of us now. Let us start, we have no time to loose."

"Vampire blood, a blue diamond that changes hue depending on the bearer, twin necklaces to work as buffer between dimensions." Fai ticked off all the prerequisite items, as he set Sarah down on one corner of the arcana and sat down besides her. Subaru sat down opposite to him, leaving the apex of the triangle to Yuui. He gently pushed Livanya to the middle and occupied the remaining corner. She'd started to sob uncontrollably, clutching his hand in a vice grip.

"Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't send me away. Don't. I don't want to leave you, Yuui-"

"Please, love. Don't make this harder for me. . . For us. . " he looked at Fai and Subaru, staring at Livanya with a a forlorn expression.

"No matter what, you'll always be my best friend." Fai sighed.

"Take care, sis." smiled Subaru.

Yuui caught her lips in one last desperate kiss. Then stepped back in position to push out energy into the arcana's mechanism. They couldn't wait any longer.

* * *

**TBC**


End file.
